Soldotna senior Whitney Wortham signed to play soccer at Clark College in a signing ceremony Friday morning at Soldotna High School.

Clark College is a two-year public institution, and Wortham was one of nine players from around the Northwest and the only from Alaska.

According to a press release from Clark College, Wortham plans to major in English and eventually enroll in medical school.

A four-year letter winner, Wortham provided a steady midfield presence for a SoHi girls program that traditionally reigned atop the Northern Lights Conference. After making her varsity debut up front as a forward and striker, Soldotna coach Jimmy Love said Wortham was moved back to a defensive role, a change that helped expose her versatility on the field.

“I think that was a really good decision we came to,” Love said. “She has the ability to play anywhere on the field, that’s a great thing for a player to have in their arsenal.”

Love said Wortham provided an intimidating physical presence on the field, which helped the Stars reach the top seed out of the NLC Southern Division last spring.

“She’s big-bodied, and when you run into her once, you tend to stay away from her,” Love said. “She’s taken that role as a senior where she wants to take on more responsibility from the team standpoint.”

Clark is the two-time defending Northwest Athletic Conference Southern Region champion, which the Penguins won with an 11-0-1 regular season conference record.